Central Land Council chair Warren Williams has written to the NT Minister for Lands, Planning and Environment, Joshua Burgoyne, urging a suite of reforms to the Territory's Sacred Sites laws.

Mr Williams noted that an earlier letter from one month ago had received no response, with which the Land Council was disappointed.

"I have heard that the Legislative Scrutiny Committee has now made its report about the Amendment Bill and that Parliament is sitting again in May and June. I strongly encourage you to talk with the four Land Councils before you bring the Amendment Bill back to Parliament," he wrote.

"If you keep talking with us like you promised our Council at the meeting in April, the Central Land Council will be able to help you co-design comprehensive reform to the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act that will benefit everyone.

"For example, the CLC has asked for a long time for its sacred site clearance certificates to be recognised under the Sacred Sites Act. That process is trusted and often preferred by both traditional owners and proponents. It would streamline the process of development approval and reduce unnecessary costs."

Mr Williams also urged the Minister to pursue reforms including: Ensure developers who follow the conditions of a CLC sacred site clearance certificate or an Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA) certificate are protected from prosecution; give custodians the right to request a review if they don't believe an AAPA certificate properly protects a site; remove the power to override a decision of AAPA and issue a Minister's certificate; and declare 'legacy' AAPA certificates issued more than 10 years ago void and require certificate holders to reapply.

The Central Land Council chair also said AAPA (or land councils) should be given the ability to retract or amend certificates where new information has become available which is relevant to the certificate.

He said the system should include increased penalties for damage or destruction of sites and provide compensation for custodians; make sure AAPA is funded well enough to allow for proper processing of authority certificates with no legal timeframe imposed; and allow Land Councils to simply nominate the AAPA board members for their region and allow a longer period for nominations.

Mr Williams wrote that it was critical the NT government does not make amendments to the Sacred Sites Act without first obtaining the explicit consent of the AAPA board and the four Territory Land Councils.

"Not talking with us about genuine reforms like these is missing the chance to make the Sacred Sites Act stronger for everyone, including developers and custodians alike," he wrote.

"While I ask you to talk with us properly before you bring the Amendment Bill back to Parliament, I also remind you of what you told our Council meeting in early April. I hope that you will be a man of your word and include at least those changes in the Amendment Bill, when it does come back to Parliament."

Mr Williams noted that while the Minister had said certificates would only be transferred for "the exact same work" as the previous certificate, the Amendment Bill does not make that provision.

"It says certificates can be transferred if the "work or use of land" is the same. "Use of land" is very vague – for example, a mining is a "use of land" but a mine can be big or small and the conditions needed to protect sacred sites could be very different," he wrote.

The CLC chair noted that an earlier promise that Traditional Owners "would be the ones who decide about enforceable undertakings" was not reflected in the Amendment Bill, which indeed "does not even say AAPA must consult Traditional Owners about that decision".

Mr Williams also said there is nothing in the Amendment Bill with regards to Traditional Owners receiving compensation for damage to significant sites.

"You have heard our delegates speak from the heart about how important sacred sites are to our people and the stress and suffering we experience when they are damaged or at risk of harm. I am, we are, asking you to sit down at the table with us to make real improvements to the Sacred Sites Act that will protect sacred sites and make the laws work better for everyone. I look forward to hearing from you," he wrote.

NT Minister for Lands, Planning and Environment Joshua Burgoyne said on Thursday that the reforms "ensured the legislation reflected modern regulatory standards while continuing to strengthen protection of sacred sites".

"The cultural authority of custodians remains central, and the amendments will provide much needed clarity and simpler, streamlined approval processes, while ensuring the protection of sacred sites remains paramount," he said.

The NT government said the amendments include "three key changes":

- Formalisation of the existing composition of the members of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (the Authority) Board, which it said "will ensure continued strong representation of Traditional Owners, along with additional expertise in development and governance";

- Transferring and adding parties to Authority Certificates, which the government said "allows for existing certificates to be transferred, or have additional parties added, as long as the proposed work and use of the land are the same, and all existing conditions in protecting the sacred sites remain unchanged"; and

- Enforceable undertakings, which is said "will provide the additional tools to make people remediate damages to sacred sites, rather than prosecuting people through the court process, which can be costly and time consuming".